CARICOM observers to monitor Suriname general elections

PARAMARIBO, Suriname -- The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is sending an electoral observer mission to monitor the general elections to be held in Suriname on Monday, 25 May, 2015.

The mission will be headed by Ian Browne, the deputy chief elections officer in Barbados. Browne has served as a member of several CARICOM election observer missions including the one for the June 2014 general elections in Antigua and Barbuda where he served as deputy chief of mission. The other members of the mission include experts in electoral management and administration from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, The Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Jamaica, St Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago.

Members of the mission and the CARICOM Secretariat support staff will begin arriving in Suriname on Thursday and depart by 28 May 2015.

The CARICOM electoral observer mission will meet with the Suriname electoral officials, leaders of political parties and other stakeholders. On the day of the elections, the mission will monitor the electoral process including the opening of the poll, the voting process, the closing of the poll and the counting of the ballots.

The observer mission will issue a preliminary statement based on its observations and findings. A report of the general elections will be subsequently prepared and submitted to the CARICOM secretary general.

For CARICOM, election observation serves as a platform to support existing democratic traditions within the Caribbean Community as part of its wider policy of supporting democracy.